Motelscape: A Surreal Full-Room Critique of Fantasy and Commodified Desires

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - motel bed

As part of last year’s Art Basel Miami Beach, multimedia artists Marina Fini, Signe Pierce, Sierra Grace, and Sydney Krause created “Motelscape,” an otherworldly full-room installation located in a love suite of the Miami Princess Hotel. Every object was specifically designed to convey a sense of replicated and illusory reality, such as the translucent plexiglass furniture (handcrafted by Fini), LED lighting, and infinity mirrors. The installation was an immersive critique on the seductive power of materialism, and how human fantasy, escapism, and extravagance can come at the cost of turning art and sex into commodities. Fini described the space as a “metaphorical toothache,” aimed at overloading the senses with a false sweetness that reveals a societal infection.

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - motel neon sign

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - motel room with plexiglass decor

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - plexiglass beaded curtain

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - motel tv

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - heart-shaped bed

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - telephone

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - motel room with mirrors and plexiglass decor

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - motel heart-shaped bathtub

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - plexiglass furniture

Marina Fini and Signe Pierce, Motelscape - heart-shaped bed with plexiglass decor

Images © Marina Fini and participating artists